


I'm Telling You As Your Friend

by emorion



Series: Nico interacts! [2]
Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Grey's Anatomy spoilers (minor), M/M, Nico interacts!, Schmico, after 15X09, b-team (grey's anatomy)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-30 18:50:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17834159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emorion/pseuds/emorion





	I'm Telling You As Your Friend

Taryn was having a rough week.

Actually, rough was an understatement. It was a terrible week. Not only was Cece her first major patient, but she had grown extremely close to the matchmaker. It was as if Cece could see her soul. She knew about her crush on Dr. Grey from the beginning, and she understood what it was like pining for a straight woman. Cece was the only person who hadn't treated her crush on the surgeon like a joke. Taryn was well on her way to being over Meredith Grey because of Cece, but now she was gone. Taryn was on her own.

Sitting at the bar at Joe's, Taryn heard someone take the seat next to her. She looked up to find Dr. Kim, who gave her a small smile before gesturing at the bartender. She was on her fourth drink, so her judgement was a little cloudy.

  
"You're the one who kissed my friend in the elevator and the blew him off," she mumbled just loud enough for Nico to hear.

  
The fellow opened his mouth to refute, but closed it again. He looked at his beer and nodded. "I did."

  
Taryn looked back at her own drink, tapping idly at the glass. Life was too short, she supposed, not to make the most of it. "How'd you know he was gay?" She blurted, surprising both of them.

  
Nico looked at her, mouth agape. "I don't know."

  
Taryn shook her head. "You knew it before he did," she said, "I mean, I did, too. But I've spent A LOT of time with him. You just. Wink at him? On a whim?"

  
"Well he was watching me!" Nico laughed and pointed to his eyes with two fingers. "Direct eye contact."

  
Taryn realized that she was laughing as well. She stopped. "It's just, your gaydar must be, I don't know, super tuned."

This made Nico laugh again, this time throwing his head back. "Levi was really hard to read," he said, pensive. "I wasn't sure if he was into me or not. He confused me. And in the elevator, when he told me that I was the first guy he ever kissed, it seemed like, I don't know. Like he was messing with me?"

  
Taryn shrugged. "Yeah, he was just as confused as you, I think."

  
"I know that now." Nico said. He smirked and downed the rest of his drink.

Did he look smug?

  
Wait. The storm. Max capacity. The clinic…

  
"You worked together? In the clinic, right?"

  
Nico smiled, a small, longing thing. "Yeah."

  
Click.

  
"OH MY GOSH!!!" Taryn's voice rang throughout the bar, startling even herself. "What happened?!?" She asked in a stage whisper. Maybe she should hold up on the vodka sours.

  
This time, Nico's smile was 100 wats, lighting up his entire face. "I'm not one to kiss and tell," he laughed, "but I'm sure Levi would give you the details, since you knew about the elevator."

  
Despite her broken heart, Taryn found herself smiling. This was fun. Or maybe she was really drunk. It had been a long week.

  
"I really like him though," Kim sighed, leaning over the bar. Taryn looked over at him then. His face was honest and open. Levi Schmitt could be so oblivious sometimes. This guy was gone.

  
"Hey, are you ok?" Nico asked her after a while. "You seem upset."

  
"Yeah, I lost a patient." Taryn said, then she sniffed. "I lost a friend."

  
"Cece, right?" Nico asked, passing her a napkin. "She was a sweet lady."

  
They sat in companionable silence for a couple of minutes before the intern broke it. "So what would have happened if he wasn't gay?" She asked.

  
Nico shrugged. "I guess, well--I would have had to move on. It's happened before, where I've been interested in men that aren't interested in men. But they usually shut me down right away. Like, after I buy them a drink the first time."

  
Taryn smirked. Nico continued, "Life goes on, ya know? Other fish in the sea and all that. Sometimes are harder than others, but you have to stay open to the possibility that someday, someone is going to come along and love you the way you deserve."  
It was surprising how easily the fellow answered. While Taryn had just finished her fifth (sixth?) glass, Nico was working on his second beer.

  
"You're so confident in yourself." Taryn marveled. "I mean, you can be, look at you!"

Nico smirked again. "Look at you! You're smart and confident, you step up when You're needed, and you have a heart of gold from what I can tell." Taryn blushed, shaking her head, but Nico continued, "All that plus your very pretty eyes and great skin. You, my friend, are a catch!"

  
Taryn smacked him on the shoulder. She really was drunk.

  
Nico just laughed. "I'm serious though." He said, once he calmed down. "Listen, at the end of the day, we only have ourselves for sure. So you need to find out who want to be, become that person, and love yourself. After that, the universe will open up to you."

  
"Is that what you did?" Taryn asked.

  
"Absolutely. And I know I'm not perfect. I can be thick headed and rash, but I accept that. It's part of who I am." Nico said, and with a final nod, he gestured to the bartender for three cups of water. He downed one and put the other two in front of Taryn. "Drink those. Then ask for more, okay?"

  
Taryn was still processing all that Nico had said, staring ahead with a glazed over look. Nico closed his tab then waved in front of Helm's face to get her attention. "Drink and ask for more water, yes?"

  
Taryn smiled. "You aren't my doctor." She teased.

  
"I'm not telling you as your doctor," Nico smiled. "I'm telling you as your friend. See you around." And with a pat on her shoulder he headed for the door.

  
Taryn looked up at the ceiling. She suffered a great loss today. Cece was a great woman and a force to be reckoned with. She helped Taryn realize that waiting for Meredith Grey to fall in love with her was a waste of time, and she would be forever grateful for that. But now, thinking about how understanding Nico was, Taryn figured she wasn't as alone as she thought.


End file.
